Adjustable footrail



Jan. 4, 1949. A. B; BELL ADJUSTABLE FOOTRAIL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 28, 1945 Jan. 4, 1949. B, E 2,458,463

ADJUSTABLE 'FOOTRAIL Filed Aug. 28, 1945 2 SheetsSheet 2 Patented Jan. 4, 1949 lT'ElD STATES PATENT OFICE.

4 2.458.463 ADJUSTABLE FoorRAiL. AlfredB. Bell, Philadelphia Pa. assignor to Herwood-Wakefield Company, Gardner, Mass. a

corporation. of Massachusetts:

Application August 28, 1945, Serial No. 613,065

9' Claims.

This invention relates to foot rails such as are commonly carried behind vehicle seats for thecomfort and convenience of. the occupants of the nextseat behind. Since therev is considerable variation in; the length of human. legs, it is desirable that such foot rails be. adjustabletowardor from the. next seat so as to. accommodate people oi difierent dimensions.

According to the present invention, a. foot rail is provided; which can be easily adjusted forward or. back by the feet. of the user so that, it is unnecessary to lean forward or to stoop over to make thevadjustmentsi For thispurpose, the foot rail may comprise a longitudinally horizontal but transversely inclined, board which is normally locked. inposition. but which; may be rocked onan axis parallel to its. length. to release it for lat.- eral movement toward. or. from; the operator- The invention is more completely disclosed in the following description. of. certainembodi-ments thereof and in. the drawings, of which.

Figurei is an end view of afoot rail embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 2--2 of Figure 1..

Figure 3 is a section on. the line 3-3 of. Figure 2.

Figure a is a section on the line 4-4% of Fig-.- 11328 2'.

Figure- 5- is: a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 2:

Figure 6 is an end elevation of a. modified form of the invention.

Figure 7 is a section. on the: line 1-1 of Fig-- ure 6.

Figure 8. is: a section on. the line 8-8 of Figure 6..

Figure 9 is; a. section on. the line 9-4! of: Figure- 3;

Figure 10-is a section on the line lily-10 0f Figure 8..

The foot rail mechanism shown in Figures 1 to 5 comprises a board or rail; having apairof brackets 22, only 0116:0f which is shown, rockable about. a shaft 24. Each bracket 2-2 is secured to'a. short sleeve 26: which is rotatably fitted on the shaft 24'. Nearthe outer end or each-s1eeve-26-is; mounted. a locking pawl 28 which has portions; extending oppositely from the: axis: of. the. sleeve, each portion being: provided with one or more: teeth; 30: which engage in upper and lower fixed locking racks 32 to lock the pawls 28, and. hence: the foot rail. against forward or rearward. lateral movement. Rocking, movement of. the rail, 20

to: the: positioirindicatedby broken: lines in. Figure:

1. rocks. the pawl 28 to. disengage the teeth. 30. from. the racks 32 and to release the. rail. for iorward or rearward. adjustment Forward adjustment is had by pushing, against the rail with the fleet. For rearward movement a driving mechanism is provided comprising a. helical spring 36 which is coiled. around. the shaft 24, one. end of. the spring being attached. to the shaft as at 38... the other end being attached to the. adjacent. bracket 2%. The spring is tensed in. such a manner as to im press on the rail. and bracket a. clockwise torque (as. in Figure 1) and upon the shait 24 a counterclockwise. torque.

Mounted on. the end oi the shaft. 2-4 is. a gear wheel 42 the. teeth of. which mesh with a. horizontal rack 44 above the wheel. Since-the spring, 36 impresses a counterclockwise torque onithie shaft 24,. it. also impresses a similar torque on the wheel 4 2v tending. to. impel the whole: mechanism toward the. rear by the reaction of: the. teeth of the. gear wheel againstthe. rack 44.

As is evident from Figure 1,. the distribution oi. weight of the rail 20: with respect to; the axis. of the shaft 24 is such. that. gravity tends to main.-

. tain the: rail in its: position tor' use. That. tend? army is also aided by the: spring 36'. If an. aidjustmen-t: of. the rail. is desired, it is rocked forward by the feet of the operator to; release the locking pawl 28. While held in. this unlocked position, the rail: is; either pushed. forward by the feet or allowed to be moved. rearward: by the spring-driven gear wheet 42. Atthe desired position the rail: is rocked. baeli to: lock it against further movement.

The racks 32; and 44. may conveniently be iormed. in or carried. by: a. horizontah channel member or equivalent. supporting: member. having a. wide portion 52 from the sides of which theteetlr of the rack 32'; are struck. inward. and a narrower. portion: 54 a side. or which is the rack for the: gear wheel; 42. The gear wheel 42 isv held in meshed engagement with the: rack M by a. vertical disk it which. fits. between the: sidesot the: wide portion 5:2 of" the: channet member 50 and through the: center of; which the shaft. 24 passes. The channel member ill may be. secured in. any suitable: manner to the legs; 58' of the chain. such leg being; indicated. in the drawing. A. sixth able: cap 60 may be secured. to each end or the channel member to; coverrough edges.

While; only one. end portion or the: raii; Zil with.

adjacent; mechanism. is shown in the drawing,

is to be understood that the sleeve 2d, pawr 2.8. gear. wheel 42 and channel member 5-!) are prefieu. ably duplicated at the. other of the: rail. A.

single spring 36 may be employed, or if preferred, a second spring may be attached to the other bracket 22 which is not shown in the drawing.

The embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 6 to 10 is a slight modification of that hereinbefore described. A rail 20' is secured to a pair of brackets 22 which rock about a shaft 24'. Each bracket 22 is mounted on a sleeve 26 having at its outer end a pawl 28 having teeth 30' which normally engage racks 32. At each end of the shaft 24 is mounted a gear wheel 42' the teeth of which engage a rack 44' below the wheel.

A spring 36' is coiled around the shaft 24, one end of spring being attached to the shaft itself, the other end of the spring being attached at 38' to a link 39' which extends to a bracket 40' near the lower edge of the rail 20'.

The spring 36 is tensed so as to exert a clockwise torque on the shaft 24' and wheel 42' as viewed in Figure 6, and a counterclockwise torque on the rail 20' by tension transmitted through the link 39'. Since the point 38 is near the axis of the shaft 24', the effective arm of rotation is short and if the characteristics of the spring 36' are properly chosen, the torque exerted thereby on the rail 20' will partially offset but not overcome the force of gravity normally holding the rail 20' in its position for use. The effect of the spring 36' in this case is to aid the operator in rocking the rail 20 forward to unlock it.

As hereinbefore described, the racks 32' and 44' are formed in or carried by a channel member 50'. The wheel 42' is kept meshed with the rack 44' by a disk 56 which travels in the channel member 56, the latter being welded or otherwise secured to chair legs 58.

I claim:

1. An adjustable rail mechanism for a chair or the like, comprising two horizontal channel members supported at the sides of the chair, a shaft extending between and supported by said channel members, rack and gear means on said channel members and shaft for causing said shaft to travel along said channel members when it rotates, an elongated rail loosely mounted on said shaft parallel therewith and rockable about the axis thereof, and means operative to lock said rail and shaft against movement along the channel members when said rail is in position for use and to release said rail and shaft when the rail is rocked from its position for use.

2. An adjustable rail mechanism for a chair or the like comprising two horizontal racks supported at the sides of the chair, a transverse shaft extending between said racks, gear wheels mounted on said shaft and meshing with said racks to cause motion of the shaft along the racks when it revolves, an elongated rail loosely mounted on said shaft parallel therewith and rockable about the axis thereof, and means locking the rail'and shaft against motion along said racks when the rail is in one angular position with respect to the shaft and releasing said rail and shaft when the rail is rocked to another angular position.

3. An adjustable foot rail mechanism for a chair or the like, comprising two horizontal racks mounted at the sides of the chair, a shaft extending transversely between said racks, gear wheels on said shaft meshing with said racks to cause lateral motion of said shaft along said racks when it rotates, an elongated rail loosely mounted on said shaft parallel therewith and rockable about the axis thereof, spring means tending to rotate said shaft in a direction to cause rearward movement thereof, and means releas-' 4 able by rocking said rail from its normal position for use for locking said shaft and rail against movement along said racks.

4. An adjustable foot rail mechanism for a chair or the like, comprising two horizontal racks mounted at the sides of the chair, a shaft extending transversely between said racks, gear wheels mounted on said shaft and meshing with said racks to cause lateral motion of said shaft along said racks when it rotates, a rail loosely mounted on said shaft parallel therewith and rockable about the axis thereof, a horizontal locking rack fixed with respect to said chair, and a locking pawl movable by rocking movement of said rail to and from a locking position wherein lateral movement of said shaft and rail is prevented.

5. An adjustable foot rail mechanism for a chair or the like, comprising two horizontal channel members secured at the sides of the chair, a shaft extending transversely between said members and laterally movable therealong, gear wheels secured to the ends of said shaft, said channels having racks below and in mesh with said gear wheels, a foot rail rockably supported by said shaft parallel therewith, spring means connecting said shaft and rail and tensed to to exert a torque on said shaft tending to cause rearward movement of said gear wheels along said racks, and locking means between said channel members and said rail normally locking said shaft and rail against lateral movement and releasable by rocking movement of said rail about the axis of the shaft.

6. An adjustable foot rail mechanism for a chair or the like, comprising a pair of horizontal racks secured to the chair and extending from front'to rear, a shaft extending transversely of the chair, a pair of gear wheels beneath and in mesh with the respective racks and mounted on said shaft to rotate therewith, means maintaining said wheels in meshed engagement with said racks, a foot rail structure rockably supported by said shaft and movable forward and rearward therewith when the shaft and wheels rotate. spring means attached to said rail structure tending to move said rail rearward, and means releasable by rocking said rail structure from its normal position for locking said shaft and rail against forward and rearward movement.

7. An adjustable foot rail mechanism for a chair or the like, comprising a paircf horizontal racks secured to the chair and extending from front to rear, a shaft extending transversely of the chair, a pair of gear wheels beneath and in mesh with the respective racks and mounted on said shaft to rotate therewith, means maintaining said wheels in mesh with said racks, a foot rail structure rockably supported on said shaft and movable forward and rearward therewith when the shaft and wheels rotate, a tensed spring at-- tached to said shaft and foot rail structure tending to rock said rail rearward and to rock said shaft forward, a locking rack carried by said chair and a locking pawl carried by said foot rail structure, said pawl being arranged to be in looking engagement with said locking rack when the foot rail is in its normal position for use to prevent forward and rearward movement of said rail and shaft and to be disengaged from said locking rack when the foot rail structure is rocked forward.

8. An adjustable foot rail mechanism for a chair or the like, comprising a pair of horizontal racks secured to the chair and extending from front to rear, a shaft extending transversely of the chair, a pair of gear wheels above and in mesh with the respective racks and mounted on said shaft to rotate therewith, means maintaining said wheels in mesh with said racks, a foot rail structure rockably mounted on said shaft and movable forward and rearward therewith when the shaft and wheels rotate, a tensed spring connected at one end to the shaft and at the other end to the foot rail structure tending to rock the shaft rearward and the foot rail structure forward, and locking means carried by the chair and foot rail structure releasable by forward rocking movement of the foot rail structure from its normal position.

9. An adjustable foot rail mechanism for a chair or the like, comprising a pair of horizontal racks secured to the chair and extending from front to rear, a shaft extending transversely of the chair, a pair of gear wheels above and in mesh with the respective racks and mounted on said shaft to rotate therewith, means maintaining said wheels in mesh with said racks, a foot rail structure rockably mounted on said shaft and movable forward and rearward therewith when the shaft structure.

ALFRED B. BELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 513,169 Armstrong Jan. 23, 1894 1,047,462 Taylor Dec. 17, 1912' 1,355,260 Potter Oct. 12, 1920 1,608,848 Gallowitz Nov. 30, 1926 Crabb Oct. 24, 1939 

